Marvel: I Need A New Body

After going over the plans to kill Ego, Erik leaned back in his chair, exhaling deeply. The tension in the air had finally settled, but it still felt like a weight on his shoulders.

"By the way, where are Pietro and Lilja. I haven't seen them since we officially made Wanda the dictator." Erik asked.

"They're in Asgard, Lilja wanted some exercise. She had been gaining weight." Wanda replied flatly.

He deadpanned, "Well, I guess, I'll let them have their free time for now. They won't be of much use against Ego anyway..."

"Alright," he exhaled, standing up and stretching. "We deserve a small break, don't we?"

The trio of girls exchanged tired glances.

He wasn't wrong.

It had been a whirlwind of chaos, these past few days — first, the small fight with Gamora, followed by the Kree and Xandarian invasion, and then their journey to Thanos's sanctuary. And before all that? The headaches of dealing with Sokovian politics.

It was enough to exhaust even the strongest among them.

Erik continued, his tone softening. "Take the day off. We'll set off of to Planet Ego tomorrow."

Wanda, Cindy, and Helen nodded gratefully, they were exhausted as well. Well, Helen hadn't done anything but was still exhausted. She was worried for them quite a bit after all.

From the tone of his words Wanda and Cindy understood that he wanted some alone time, so, they left to take a refreshing bath, while Helen just stood beside the table wondering what to do to help them.

Erik, on the other hand, made his way to the balcony, hoping for some peace of mind.

Outside, the view from the Mars base stretched far into the horizon. The Chitauri soldiers were already busy rebuilding the destroyed garden dome and other parts of the base. The air was filled with the sound of construction, but Erik found it somewhat calming.

The repairs on Gamora's ship were nearly finished too; she would be leaving in a few hours. He hadn't talked much with Gamora, things were a bit awkward between them right now.

He wondered how to treat her from now, he knew he shouldn't cut her off completely since Rocket's genius might be required somewhere in the future, so... what kind of dynamics should he aim to forge between him and Gamora.

'Perhaps, the current awkward relationship ain't bad as well.' He thought. 'Slowly, mellowing it out would be the best.'

But what if in future she comes with her boyfriend to ask for blessings... 

Erik shuddered imagining the cringe scenario. 

'Cindy and Lilja would laugh at me for months, for sure...' He dreaded.

As he was lost in thought, he didn't notice the footsteps behind him until they were close.

Helen walked up and leaned against the balcony beside him, her arms crossed as she looked out at the same view. She was quiet for a moment, letting the silence sit between them before speaking.

"You seem tense, Erik," she said softly, glancing at him. "Or rather... scared."

Erik didn't deny it. He nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on the horizon. "Yeah," he admitted, "I am scared."

Helen looked at him with a hint of surprise. His vulnerable side... this was the first time she had seen Erik like this.

He glanced at her for a moment, knowing she probably misunderstood something.

"The enemy I have to face…" He paused, "He was already strong, and now he's off to gain even more power— power strong enough to wipe out half or more of the universe. And here I am, standing on Mars, doing nothing."

Helen had known Erik for quite a bit of time... these past few months and even when she worked for him in the past to create the modified cradle... not once had she seen him like this.

He had always been an impregnable fortress on whom all of them relied. An unbreakable shield that protected them from everything.

But Helen knew that deep down he was just an ordinary man cursed with situations.

Helen leaned in a little closer, her expression softening. She could see the burden he was carrying, and it wasn't just the fear of failure. It was the fear of losing everything, of not being able to protect the people he cared about.

"Erik," she said quietly, placing a hand gently on his arm, "You aren't doing nothing. You're preparing to get strong to stop him, are you not?"

Erik sighed, "That may be so, but what if even after that I'm not strong enough?"

Helen narrowed her eyes, 'Wait a minute... just a few minutes ago, he was going on and on about his plans. And I didn't sense an ounce of nervousness from him during that time... but now...'

"You're just fucking with me, aren't you?" Helen said, folding her arms under her breasts.

Erik tried to control his laughter before bursting into a chuckle, "Hah, you're no fun, I thought I'd get comforted by a hot scientist lady for a bit longer..."

Helen grumbled, as she softly hit his arm, there was a small smile in her face too, "Mmmgrrr, and here I thought..."

Unexpectedly, Helen choked on her own words. Tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Erik tilted his head, "Hey, now... why are you making that face?" He asked... expecting another playful fist.

But... Helen glared at him with her teary face, there was anger in her face too but without saying anything, she chose to run away.

The man just stood there, utterly confused for a moment, wondering why his friend got mad at him all of a sudden. Such light banter and flirting wasn't something uncommon for them...

'Wait...'

Now, he understood.

'She still likes me, huh...'

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The past few days had been a nightmare for Helen.

The sudden invasion from the Kree and Xandarian armies had shaken her to her core. The intensity of that day was still etched in her mind—holed up in her lab, the walls vibrating with distant explosions, and the knowledge that Erik, Wanda, and Cindy were out there in harm's way.

Every moment felt like an eternity as she prayed desperately for their safety, her heart clenched with a fear that seemed to grow with each blast.

She was powerless, trapped in her lab, hoping the invaders wouldn't breach her sanctuary and that her friends would make it back alive.

And then they all left her alone to fight an overload of outer space.

When Erik finally returned, the defeated look on his face worried her. She feared that someone hadn't made it back, but thankfully, it wasn't that.

The enemy had escaped with the means to gain unimaginable power—something that even Erik was unsure he could face.

It shook her deeply, yet, she was just relieved they were all once again safe.

She thanked the gods that her prayers were listened to and all of them returned alive. Being powerless, the only thing she could do was desperately pray for their safety. During the day Erik was fighting against the entire invasive army and during the day he had left her alone in the Mars base, she was too scared to think of the worst-case scenario.

The thought of him not making it, not being able to see him again, broke her heart every second... And she realized that her feelings for him were more than just lust for his perfect body that she had stitched herself, she had started to like him for who he was...

But, he had been too downcast after arriving back, she thought to comfort him and talk with him. Heart to heart. And he... he pranked her.

Well, she was not mad at him for this. At least after playing a joke on her, his mood should've returned to normal.

She was glad, looking at his smiling face.

So, this is Love, huh... She thought as she nudged him.

Overwhelmed by emotion, remembering her worries for him until now looking at his smiling face, she couldn't stop herself from tearing up from happiness. If she could see his smiling face every day... wouldn't that be nice?

And then... he did the stupidest thing. Instead of hugging her, he asked her dumbfounded - Why was she making that kind of face?

'How could you be so oblivious to my feelings Erik, or are you just ignoring me?' She glared at him with a teary face and then ran away.

As ran away from Erik, she reached the garden dome... 

Finding her favorite spot, near the half destroyed pool she looked at her reflection.

Erik's relationship with Cindy and Wanda made it clear that he was creating a harem. Just as he always used to declare jokingly when he was still in his previous body. But after getting his new body... he never approached her again... what's more he... he always! Always rejected her!

He ignores her feelings!

Does he think that he's too good for her now?

'No, that's not the case.' She thought, 'He's angry at me... angry at the fact that I couldn't accept him when he was in his previous body...' 

When he had misunderstood her interactions with him and confessed to her.

She knew that he had just 'misunderstood' and so, she just asked him to wait until he gets a new body. Then she would get to date his ideal man and he'd get to date the humble her. After dating for a while, they were sure to develop genuine feelings for each other...

At least that's what her plan was.

Alas, someone snatched him away...

'And he no longer wants me... because he's angry that I couldn't accept him for who he was in his previous body...'

Helen teared up looking at her reflection.

She was regretting and cursing her past self. If only she could go back... she would kiss the hell out of Erik's wrinkled-old-noseless self and then repeatedly shout her love for him.

'Sigh...'

Love really is painful. Love is really unreasonable. Love is fucking stupid...

Helen hadn't felt such pain in all her life... this was Helen's first love. 

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